This blog provides delicious,traditional, vegetarian, South Indian Recipes from my mother Chitra Amma's kitchen. There are few 'world recipes' as well!
Thanks to Shravan, Pranav, Akash, Tara, Guggs, Shankari, Adu, Dhrithi, and Appa Ramachandran for the photos!

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Wednesday, August 31, 2016

We arrived at Portland right on time for the 19th annual Elephant Garlic Festival!

As the name indicates Elephant garlic is enormous in size. Unlike normal garlic, it has a mild and sweet flavour but possesses the same antibacterial properties as the normal garlic does. Each clove is fleshy and is as big as a medium size onion. It can be chopped and used like any other vegetable in soups, kozhambus, rasam, gravies and salads.

Though we had already enjoyed the festival during our last trip, visiting the Garlic mela once again was really an exciting experience.

After having a gala 'all garlic snack time' at the Elephant Garlic Festival my taste buds started to crave for something spicy, tangy and salty! We had picked up four huge Elephant Garlic bulbs at the festival and there was a huge eggplant tucked away in the refrigerator at home. That was enough to trigger off my enthusiasm to prepare Baingan and Elephant Garlic Bharta for dinner! I was not brave enough to use more than three cloves of Elephant Garlic in this attempt! After tasting the Bharta I realized that more cloves would not have harmed in any way!

Grilling is the first and best option to cook eggplant for bharta. But I chose to microwave it this time.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

I get
utterly confounded when someone poses the question such as this, which is most
difficult to answer. I am a vegetarian and I love food. All dishes under the
sun are my favourite dishes provided they are vegetarian. I love the
authentic Ethiopian Injera as much as I
love our traditional Ragi dose. I relish Burritos and Rajma masala with Roti with
equal zest. Falafel or Masal Vadas, Pineapple Gazpacho or Pineapple Morkuzhambu – all of them make my mouth water! My sweet side
and salt craving side are equally
balanced, hence I love sweets and savouries alike. Similarly I have a ‘hot side
and cold side’ too! As a young girl I was almost in tears when I had to decide
between hot coffee and rose milk after a
sumptuous treat at a restaurant. Touched by my predicament my doting father
bought me both the drinks at a short interval so that I could relish them both to my heart’s content! Years have passed by.
Nature has decked me up with a silver crown to vouch for my senior citizen status.
But my favourite dishes are yet to be
sorted out! I am still at a loss when I see an elaborate spread laid out in front of me!

I have been
raised in a large household where the
kitchen throbbed with activity from dawn to dusk. The numerous pleasant
aromas that wafted through the kitchen started off with that of filter coffee
and drifted towards the many flavours of roasting, grinding and simmering of food,
that were capable of activating the
digestive juices of even a yogi. The spluttering of the seasoning, the hissing
of the frying pan, the rolling of the grinding stone which crushed the masalas
on a stone slab, the rhythmic ‘dhak dhak’
of the huge pestle pounding the spice powders in the heavy stone mortar were music to my ears! If at all A. R. Rahman had time traveled and
listened to the music, he would have certainly been inspired to compose the world’s greatest ‘Kitchen Symphony’ ever! The distinct aromas arising out of the mixing
and matching of the Indian
spices used in the preparation of
various lip smacking dishes gave away the day’s menu to everyone even without them entering the kitchen. Our everyday food
was simple but delicious and nutritious.

Special
food was prepared when we had a celebration or when we had guests at home. On
those occasions the entire house would be filled with the heady aroma of specific spices being roasted for an authentic
Mysore dish which has no parallel in the entire world even to this day! Bisibelebath or BBB as it is dearly referred
to by the people of Mysore was and still
is the star and the highlight of all parties. As the story goes Bisibelebath literally meaning hot lentil rice was born in the royal kitchens of the Mysore
Palace during Maharaja Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s time. The innovative dish prepared by the Palace
chef was a mixture of cooked lentils (Bele) and rice (Bath), blended with powdered spices and liberally drenched with ghee. As time rolled by multiple vegetables were added to the simple
basic recipe and the royal dish evolved into a wholesome and nutritious Bisibelebath.

Though the
basic recipe remains the same each household has a specific method for preparing Bisibelebath. I
love my mother’s recipe the most where equal measures of dal and rice were
cooked together and then blended with vegetables cooked in tamarind juice. Finally the ground spice and a
lot of ghee were added. As the cooking continued the inviting flavour of the spice powder and melting ghee filled
the entire atmosphere attracting the admiration of one and all. Showered with
ghee fried cashew nuts it became a gastronomic delight.

I remember
the funny occasion when I prepared an instant Bisibelebath in the middle of
the night! My husband was away on
business to the next town and he was expected only late in the night. On such occasions he usually
finished his dinner in one of the
way side restaurants well before he reached home. On that particular day due to
some reason he came home hungry and tired that too accompanied by his business friend. There was no way he could give me
prior notice as he was zooming through a high way. And those were the no mobile
phone days! I was dazed for a moment as I had closed the kitchen for the day
and had put away the leftovers in the refrigerator. How could I immediately serve a decent
meal for two hungry men at that hour of the day? Suddenly
it occurred to me that I had stored some
Bisibelebath powder in my kitchen shelf. With a new found courage I pulled up my socks and set to work. I took
out all the leftovers from the refrigerator -
sambar, rasam, curry, and nearly
one cup of rice and emptied them together into a big vessel. The addition of water, salt, a handful of beaten rice and a chopped tomato increased the volume of the food. The men were still
washing up while I cooked the leftovers together. The flavor of
the Bisibelebath powder and the big dollop of ghee which I added in the
end drew the men to the dining table.
The liberal addition of the powder had lent a porridge like consistency to my watery Bisibelebath. It was heartening to see them gobble up the instant BBB served with cucumber slices and a bowl of curd with utmost relish! Thenceforth I learnt about how the business friend went on raving about my BBB among our friends' circle for many more days!

Such is the power - or should I say the charm - of Bisibelebath, be it an authentic preparation or it was just an instant mishmash!

As I write
this I realize that a very special soft corner in the deepest recess of my
heart is reserved for the most flavoursome and deliciously spicy Bisibelebath.
Why else does Bisibelebath top the list of my Sunday menu?

With the
increase in lifestyle diseases and other medical factors nowadays people want
to cut down on their rice intake. Most of them are switching over to millets for
their high nutritive value and numerous health benefits. Bisibelebath buffs need not
lose heart due to this new trend in diet. A delicious and nutritious
Bisibelebath can still be prepared using millets as a substitute to rice. Foxtail millet (
NAVANE) is a good choice for preparing a delicious Bisibele due to its nice texture and nutty flavor.

Bisibelebath
has donned a new avatar to suit the need of the hour. Here is Bisibele Navanebath for the benefit of all the
health conscious BBB lovers.

Now over to the recipe.

BISIBELE NAVANEBATHINGREDIENTSFoxtail millet / Navane - 1 cupSplit Pigeon Pea/ Tuvar Dal - 1 cupTurmeric powder - 1/4 tspGhee - 2 to 4 tbspsTamarind - A plum size ballSalt - 1 3/4 tspsSPICESBengal gram dal/ Chana dal - 1 tbspCoriander seeds - 1 tbspBlack gram dal/ Urad dal - 1 tspRed chillies ( Preferably Byadagi variety) - 8Black pepper - 5Fenugreek seeds / Methi seeds - 1/4 tspCardamom - 1Cinnamon stick - 1 inchCloves - 4Asafoetida - 1/4 tspDry coconut ( Copra) gratings - 1tbspVEGETABLES - FINELY CHOPPEDKholrabi/Knol Khol - 1Carrot - 1String beans - a fistfulPotatoes - 1Capsicum - 1Tomato -1Onion - 1FOR SEASONINGSesame oil - 1 tbspMustard seeds - 1/4 tspCurry leaves - a fewFOR GARNISHINGCashew nuts - 10METHOD1. Wash the Foxtail millet / Navane three times thoroughly, add three cups of clean water and let it soak for an hour.2. Roast the split pigeon peas / Tuvar dal in 1/2 tsp of ghee till it emanates a pleasant aroma.3. Add 3 cups of water and turmeric powder to the roasted dal and set it in a pressure cooker.4. In another separator of the cooker and chopped Kholrabi/ Knol Khol and place it on top of the dal vessel.5. Fill a very small cup with water, drop the tamarind into it and place it in a corner of the separator containing the vegetable.6. Pressure cook until three whistles so that the dal becomes soft and mushy.Switch off flame and allow it to cool.TO PREPARE THE SPICE POWDER1. Heat 1/4 tsp of sesame oil in a kadai and roast cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in it.2. When it emanates a pleasant aroma add all the other ingredients listed under SPICES except the dry coconut/copra gratings and asafoetida powder.3. Keep roasting on low flame till they become golden in colour emanating a very pleasant aroma.4. Finally add the asafoetida powder and roast for another few seconds and switch off flame.5. Dry grind the roasted ingredients into a fine powder. Now add the dry coconut /copra gratings and run the mixer for another minute.The spice powder is ready.TO COOK FOXTAIL MILLET/ NAVANE1. Add 1/4 tsp of sesame oil to the soaking Foxtail Millet/Navane and cook on low flame stirring now and then.2. Cook till the millet becomes soft, till it gets mashed when pressed between the thumb and the forefinger.TO PREPARE THE BISIBELE NAVANEBATH1. Heat the remaining sesame oil in a huge kadai or wok, and add the mustard seeds.2. When the mustard seeds splutter add the chopped onion and curry leaves.3. Cook till the onion becomes transparent and then add the chopped carrots and beans.4. Cover and cook the vegetables till they are half done add then add chopped potatoes. 5. When all the vegetables are almost done add the chopped capsicum and stir fry till done.6. Open the cooker, take out the tamarind, extract the juice and pour into the vegetables.7. Add the cooked Kholrabi / Knol Khol, chopped tomatoes and salt and cook till the tomatoes become soft.8. Add the mushy dal and the cooked Foxtail Millet/Navane and stir well.9. Mix the powdered spice with little water to make a paste and blend it into the vegetable dal millet mixture. Adjust consistency by adding one more glass of water. The Bisibele needs to be of pouring consistency immediately after cooking. Gradually the powder will absorb the water and a soft Bisibele Navanebath with porridge like consistency will be ready to relish.10. Cook for a few more minutes till all the ingredients blend well.11. Add half of the ghee and switch off flame.12. Heat the remaining ghee and fry the cashew nuts till they become golden in colour and pour over the flavoursome and deliciously spicy BISIBELE NAVANEBATH.

Enjoy the hot hot BISIBELE NAVANEBATH for breakfast, lunch or / and dinner with or without side dishes!

“This story was originally written for “Cook Me A Tale” contest on Tell-A-Tale.”

Sunday, August 7, 2016

My grand children sent me a message saying that they would drop by for a quick bite during lunch time in the middle of their busy shopping schedule. I wanted to serve them something special though I had already cooked sambar, rice and curry for lunch. 'Rotis and Rajma Masala'! The thought that crossed my mind set me into action and I pulled out the pre soaked Rajma from the refrigerator. Since the number of tomatoes were insufficient to make a gravy, I prepared a Dry Rajma Masala Curry and stuffed it into the Parotas. Parotas with spicy stir fried brinjal may seem like a strange combination! But it tasted delicious though!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PAROTA

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

Salt - 1 pinch

Oil or ghee - 2 tbsps

Ghee for roasting

TO MAKE THE DOUGH

1. Mix flour, oil and salt together.

2. Add water little by little and knead into a soft and pliable dough.

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Hello

Welcome to Chitra Amma's Kitchen.

I am Dibs. I am a born Foodie. I love to cook; love to eat; love to feed folks who appreciate good food. Blogging provides me a great way of documenting my mother, Chitra’s recipes, as a ready reference irrespective which time zone I live in. Amma honestly makes the best food I've ever had, and somehow, the anecdotes she tells us, make the dishes taste all the better.Most posts here are written by my mother Chitra. It’s her recipes, along with related reminiscences of people, places and anecdotes. She writes, I post!What started for a lark, has now become a serious hobby, drawing in participation from the whole family. My father, S.R. Ramachandran has started clicking away every dish made at home! Aunts, cousins, siblings, contribute to photos, and ask for recipes.We try to illustrate implements such as utensils, grinding stones and so on from the ‘pre-electric-mixer’ days wherever possible. We hope this will make an interesting read for future generations, on how food was cooked in earlier times!The site is still in its infancy, and slowly evolving, as our skills improve! We invite your comments, ideas, and questions, and will attempt answering them.

Thank you for your visit, and we hope you enjoy your stay at Chitra Amma’s Kitchen.